Doi Chang

Jun 27, 2023

Throughout most of Southeast Asai coffee growing began with European colonists—the Dutch planted coffee in Indonesia, the British in Burma, and the French in Vietnam. However, Thailand was never colonized, and growing coffee in Thailand is a much more recent experience.

Akha people, who are the farmers that grow and process Doi Chang coffee.

The high-quality Arabica bean Thai coffee is grown in the Northern Highlands near Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It is in a region that came to be known as the Golden Triangle because it was an epicenter of opium poppies and drug trafficking. It is not known when poppies first came to the region, but some suggest that they might have come down from China. For many years the tribal growers used poppies for their traditional medicine and religious ceremonies, but with the global growth in heroin use beginning in the 1950s, the gangs and criminal syndicates took over, and the Golden Triangle became a dangerous place where enormous amounts of money were being made by rich and powerful drug traffickers who controlled the area completely.

In the 1970’s under the leadership of King Bhumibol, Rama IX, a joint Thai/UN Crop Replacement and Community Development Project was devised and implemented in an effort to provide alternative high-value crops for the tribal farmers to grow as a substitute for poppies. It became enormously successful. Coffee was the principal crop in that program, and by 1976 Thailand became a coffee-exporting nation. In 1985 s poppy eradication program started, and from 1985 to 2015 poppy growing in Thailand declined by 97 percent.

Doi Chang coffee owes its existence to substitution and eradication efforts.

Doi Chang is a village in the Northern Highlands of Chiang Rai. It is populated by the Akha people, who are the farmers that grow and process Doi Chang coffee. In the early days of their coffee growing and processing efforts, the Akha farmers had to transport their coffee beans over 70 miles of rough dirt roads to Chiang Rai. It was there that the middlemen were located who bought the beans and sold them to distributors at much higher prices than what they paid the Akha farmers. In time the farmers banded together and formed a cooperative to eliminate the middlemen and get a much better price for their coffee by selling to buyers or buyers agents. The increased revenue and profit earned by the farmers resulted in a concerted effort to produce the highest quality coffee, grown and processed under a stringent set of conditions. The result is that Doi Chang is truly a world-class coffee known for its brightness, well-balanced, smoothness, together with a subtle floral aroma.

We are direct importers of Doi Chang beans. We take pride in sourcing the finest beans through our dedicated local agent. Our medium and dark roasts offer a delightful coffee experience that will surpass your expectations. Try our Doi Chang beans and savor their rich aromas and exquisite flavors. You won't be disappointed!